Uruguay

The climate crisis threatens water management and the water crisis in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 2023 illustrates the damage new industrial projects could cause if not thoroughly assessed. With green hydrogen projects gaining international prominence, it is vital they are properly planned.

Volvo said it will offer fuel cell electric trucks by the second half of the decade, while an airport in northern Japan has started working on a feasibility study for local hydrogen production. Uruguay, meanwhile, has presented a new hydrogen strategy.

A Carbon Tracker report estimates 60% of the world’s technical solar potential – enough to produce 3.5 exawatt-hours of clean electricity per year – would already be cheaper than fossil fuel if installed. Of the remainder, most would be in sub-Saharan Africa, a region which has the potential to be a global solar and wind powerhouse.

Utility UTE is planning to resume solar energy development with a new large scale PV project after several years of almost zero growth.

Inverter company ABB supplied equipment for a second PV plant at the Artigas base. Its collaboration with the Uruguayan Antarctic Institute helps facilitate climate change research.

In an exclusive interview held during the meeting “Experience of Uruguay: Business Hub of Latin America”, organized by the Uruguayan Embassy in Berlin, the country’s Minister of Energy, Guillermo Moncecchi, spoke about the future of solar in the country’s energy mix, while also recognizing its great potential by virtue of the fall in panel prices. Although its share is currently very limited and there are no prospects for large growth in the short term, solar power currently has good opportunities for development in distributed generation, as electricity prices are constantly rising. As for large-scale projects, new auctions could be held again in the coming years, but not immediately. The country, however, is still listed among the countries with the highest share of renewables in the world, with a precentage close to 98%.

The sixth edition of Intersolar South America in Sao Paulo has showed unequivocally that both international and Brazilian players firmly believe in the big potential of the Brazilian solar market, despite the current political uncertainty and usual economic challenges. Overall, the event was larger and of a higher quality than last year, while in the absence of future dates for new large-scale solar auctions, and stable conditions for private PPAs, DG is emerging as the market’s main driver.

The Natelu solar plant was built near Mercedes, in the Uruguayan department of Soriano. The project was financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Canadian Climate Fund (C2F).

According to new statistics, new PV installations for last year totaled 24 MW. Furthermore, solar was able to cover 2% of power demand in 2016.

Net income hit $3.3 million in the 12 months to the end of December, from a net loss of $1.6 million a year earlier, although the Hong Kong-based PV independent power producer recorded a net loss of $8.7 million in the fourth quarter, from $7.4 million in the final three months of 2015.